They all have hidden attributes!

“There’s no reason for you to treat me, Makoto.” Uesugi Maya gave him a look, asking if he had enough money.

"I'm fine, but—"

Takahashi Makoto scrutinized Hanakawa Kaori with a critical look and asked suspiciously, "Did something good happen? You seem a little too happy."

In Japanese social culture, the person who "treats" is usually an elder, senior, or superior. Unless something good happens, people with less seniority will not take the initiative to treat others, and no one wants to incur additional expenses for no reason.

"Good thing, of course there is."

Hanakawa Kaori tilted her head and looked at him, her delicate yet slightly youthful face revealing a captivating smile in her pale purple eyes: "The badminton club was eliminated today, a complete rout, which is great news for me."

As soon as the words were spoken, the air in the rehearsal room suddenly froze.

Kashima Reiko may not care about the badminton club, but Nekoya Hina is eager to lead the badminton club to the national championship, but she is forced to take a break.

Sensing the slightly awkward atmosphere, Hanakawa Kaori nervously licked her lips, then turned to Nekoya Hina, who was sitting between the drum set and electric piano, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, and forced a smile, saying:

"Hina-nee, you can understand how I feel, right? As a friend."

As Maya Uesugi said, she is very good at using interpersonal relationships to say such things, and Hina Nekoya has no way to blame her.

Makoto Takahashi gazed at Hanakawa Kaori's petite and youthful figure, pondered for a moment, then stood up and said, "Let's postpone the celebration party until after the live performance. Kaori, Maya and I are going to discuss the venue. Why don't you come with us?"

If Hanakawa Kaori is left unchecked, she may very well go down a path of obsession.

The bassist's job is to quietly support everyone.

Seeing that Takahashi Makoto had taken on the troublesome matter, Uesugi Maya rubbed her temples with a headache and waved helplessly at the others: "Dismissed."

Chapter 93 Rebellious Teenagers Are Hard to Deal With

[Shimokitazawa—Shimokitazawa—]

As the electronic announcement rang out, the tram slowly pulled into the station. The doors opened, and Makoto Takahashi followed Maya Uesugi and Kaori Hanakawa off the tram and headed towards the east exit.

Shimokitazawa doesn't have many tall buildings, but its commercial streets have thousands of small shops.

Small theaters, vintage clothing stores, folk music, street performers... everything feels fresh, relaxed, and free.

Stepping out of the tram station, the bustling evening air is filled with the aroma of coffee shops, and you can see trendy young people, housewives living nearby, and subculture graffiti and sculptures everywhere.

Stepping out of the tram station, the three walked along the sidewalk. At the intersection, a high school girl wearing platform shoes was handing out flyers for a nearby supermarket. Uesugi Maya casually took one and stopped to examine it closely.

"Eggs are on sale before 18 PM, no quantity limit."

She read the message aloud in a low voice, then looked up at me with an expression that seemed to ask, "Can you handle this by yourself?"

Makoto Takahashi glanced down at Hanakawa Kaori, who was puffing out her cheeks beside him, spread his hands, and shook his head to indicate, "[I'm not sure]."

Are you an idiot?

Maya Uesugi glanced at him with disdain and said coldly, "I'll go buy eggs first. You guys wait for me at the LiveHouse."

After saying that, she turned and walked briskly towards the supermarket.

Only Makoto Takahashi and Kaori Hanakawa remained at the intersection, along with a high school girl handing out flyers, creating a somewhat awkward atmosphere.

Perhaps sensing that she was about to be lectured, Hanakawa Kaori kept her cheeks puffed out like a pufferfish the whole way, remaining silent and seemingly very resistant to any possible lecture.

—Despite saying one thing but doing another, I'll just obediently follow the two of them to Shimokitazawa.

However, her youthful face, full of defiance, still made Takahashi Makoto feel somewhat troubled.

Rebellious teenage girls are harder to deal with than corpses.

"Would you like some coffee?" he asked casually.

"..."

"juice?"

"..."

"ice cream?"

"..."

Hanakawa Kaori raised her face to look over, nodded emphatically, then turned her pouty lips to the side and let out a soft snort.

Makoto Takahashi strode toward the right side of the "T" intersection, her hands behind her back, striking a defiant pose, and obediently followed behind.

At the next intersection, a coffee shop on the corner has a blackboard in front of its door that says its specialty is lemon-flavored ice cream.

[The signature Lemon Blizzard features sweet and sour lemon paired with rich and smooth cheese, creating a refreshing and sweet treat...]

Seeing that Hanakawa Kaori's gaze was drawn to him, Takahashi Makoto pushed open the door and led her inside. After ordering, they sat down at the counter by the window.

The store was playing the latest popular music and had a youthful decor. Before the waiter brought out the signature ice cream, Makoto Takahashi looked at the graffiti wall across the street and sorted out his thoughts.

He didn't mean to preach; he just felt that Hanakawa Kaori lacked empathy.

She completely disregarded Nekoya Hina's feelings and didn't consider whether her friend would feel guilty for her absence that led to this defeat.

Moreover, the members of the badminton team are under pressure and practicing desperately. Whether the tears they shed in the end are tears of joy or regret, they should not be treated with this attitude.

Saying things like "celebration" or "good thing" is going too far.

"Excuse me, please enjoy your Lemon Blizzard and Caramel Macchiato."

The waiter brought over ice cream and drinks, and Hanakawa Kaori eagerly picked up a spoon to enjoy them. Takahashi Makoto watched her brighten up as her mood returned and swallowed a sip of coffee.

"Hanaori, do you really dislike Hina?" he asked tentatively.

"No."

Hanakawa Kaori shook her head without hesitation, scooped up a spoonful of ice cream, and stuffed it into her delicate little mouth:

"At first, I found Hina-nee annoying, but she's a bit oblivious. To be honest, I prefer Junko-senpai's quiet personality, but Hina-nee takes good care of me, so I'll reciprocate."

Makoto Takahashi nodded thoughtfully, deciding to believe her for the time being.

After all, Hanakawa Kaori addresses everyone as "senpai" except for Nekoya Hina, so she was probably just overjoyed.

“Saying things like that in the rehearsal room will hurt Hina’s feelings,” he cautioned.

"Ok, I know."

Hanakawa Kaori gripped the hem of her skirt tightly with her other hand, lowered her face, and showed the expression of a wronged elementary school student: "But I've talked to Haruna-nee about a lot of things, she should know that I don't want to play badminton anymore, and she should understand me."

The sound faded, revealing a sour, astringent quality, like chewing on a raw lemon peel.

Looking into her light purple eyes, which were shimmering with moisture, Makoto Takahashi suddenly felt an urge to reach out and pat her head to comfort her.

"Can you tell me about it?" he asked softly.

Hanakawa Kaori bit her pink lips and stirred the lemon blizzard with a spoon without saying a word.

"You don't want Haruna to have a rift with you because of this, do you?"

Makoto Takahashi masterfully manipulated the rebellious teenage girl with a single sentence. She pouted, glared at him unhappily, and only softened her attitude after taking another bite of ice cream.

"Actually, I don't dislike the seniors in the badminton club, I just don't like my mom."

Hanakawa Kaori's mother, Shirakawa Akane, was the badminton coach and a former world number one female badminton player.

"I started playing badminton when I was very young. I played catch with my mother when I was very young."

"When I was in elementary school, my mother suddenly went abroad."

"Later, I heard from my classmates that she was playing badminton with someone else in another place. I thought that as long as I played well enough, my mother would come back. But she only came back once, and I never even saw her before she came to Tokyo."

"Dad always says that Mom must love me, but I know that's not true."

As she spoke, Hanakawa Kaori couldn't help but sob, tears uncontrollably overflowing from her eyes, sliding down her jawline, and soaking the hem of her tightly clenched skirt.

"I know everything. Mom wanted to cultivate a real badminton prodigy, which is why she married Dad, her childhood sweetheart, and why she ran away abroad because she was disappointed in me... She doesn't like me at all... Senior Leng Zi is the real prodigy she likes..."

Is that why she's hoping for the badminton team to collapse, hoping for a heroic moment where only she can shine, and for Coach Shirakawa to regret his decision? Takahashi Makoto thought to himself.

Although rebellious teenage girls have complex thoughts, they are not incomprehensible.

"Is this just your guess?" Takahashi Makoto asked.

"Well, but—"

Hanakawa Kaori slowly raised her face, gasping for breath as she cried, "That's how it is. Mom changed her surname back to her own, and Dad can't even see her anymore. He's only concerned with the badminton club."

"There's no evidence, is there? Maybe you've misunderstood."

Makoto Takahashi took out his phone, reached out and patted her head, comforting her, "Maybe Reiko-senpai knows the situation. Have you asked her?"

"I...I dare not."

"The ice cream is melting, let me ask for you."

"Oh." Hanakawa Kaori wiped away her tears, covered her nose and mouth with her hands, and rubbed her face vigorously.

A few minutes later, after calming down, she picked up her spoon again and muttered, "I'm not hoping for it anymore, anyway..."

The sound of eating ice cream drowned out the boastful words that followed.

Makoto Takahashi dialed Reiko Kashima's number full of hope, but the result was—

"She was right. Coach Shirakawa had indeed repeatedly mentioned his plan to create artificial geniuses, but he was very disappointed with the results. Both his daughter and a foreigner failed."

"It's probably a theory that there's no clear line between genius and hard work."

“But there is indeed a difference between talent and hard work, which is why she took a job at the Tsurumizawa Badminton Club in the hope of training an Olympic champion.”

......

"Based on intelligence, it is inferred that she married her childhood sweetheart simply because she couldn't find a more suitable person to marry."

"According to the timeline I pieced together from gossip, after losing her school's badminton match at the age of 7, Hanaori never saw Coach Shirakawa again until the regional tournament this June."

"If you need more information, I can arrange an investigation."

After listening to Kashima Reiko calmly recount the Hanakawa family's affairs, Takahashi Makoto fell into an awkward silence.

Difficult to evaluate.

He had originally wanted to persuade Hanakawa Kaori to think more positively, but the truth was so cruel; he couldn't just keep making up lies, because lies would always be exposed.

Besides, Hanakawa Kaori is just a little rebellious, not stupid.

After hanging up the phone, Makoto Takahashi cast a complex look at Hanakawa Kaori, who was finishing the last bite of her ice cream. Her youthful face was still stained with wet tears, making her look like a lost child who had just been comforted.